


Numb

by galacticmistake



Series: Strange Happenings in South Park (Whumptober 2020) [8]
Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Depression, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Isolation, Knives, Past Character Death, Past STD, References to Depression, Self-Isolation, Syphylis mention, The knife isn't actually used, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27016696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticmistake/pseuds/galacticmistake
Summary: The day after Kenny's emotional breakdown, his whole day seemed to be numb and uninteresting.(Whumptober Day 8: Isolation)(Kenny is aged up to 16 for the purpose of a high school setting)
Series: Strange Happenings in South Park (Whumptober 2020) [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951258
Kudos: 8





	Numb

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Past character death, STD mention, knives

The next day was kind of a blur for Kenny. A numb, emotionless, overwhelming blur. He stumbled his way through his classes, and barely said a word to anyone at all. 

By the time he got home, he had managed to stave off the overwhelming numbness and had instead attempted to distract himself. 

* * *

He found himself home earlier than everyone else in his family, which wasn’t actually a surprise at this point. What was a surprise was how he wanted to spend this time. Normally, he’d dive head first into his homework or other missing assignments. Today, however, he wasn’t in the mood to do anything. 

Somehow, though, he managed to open the laptop in his room and start on an Algebra 2 assignment from the 1st. It wasn’t too difficult for him, but it did feel tedious and bored him slightly. Despite all of that, he finished the assignment in 20 minutes and submitted it 2 minutes later.

As he went to start on a 2nd Algebra assignment, that overwhelming numb feeling returned, and he closed the laptop as he struggled to comprehend how the feeling came about and how to deal with it.

A few minutes later, he strangely found himself in the kitchen. His eyes drew their way to a paring knife that was just sitting on the counter, uncovered. He stared at it for a while before just grabbing it by the handle and rushing to the bathroom. 

* * *

He locked the bathroom door after double checking that he truly was alone in the house. Once locked, he sat in the bathtub with the knife. He stared at it for quite a while, trying to figure out what exactly compelled him to grab it in the first place.

And then he came to a heartbreaking realization.

For about as long as he could remember, maybe even longer than that, all he was familiar with was death. His deaths were somewhere in the hundreds, he couldn’t remember exactly, and they were always gruesome and/or depressing. The one that depressed him the most was that of syphilis, which was given to him by his first true girlfriend, Tammy Warner. Truthfully, he wished that muscular dystrophy had claimed him for longer than to the end of the year. Though at the same time, it showed him that Stan and Cartman weren’t the most trustworthy people. 

It was only this realization that drove him near to tears.

* * *

Out of nowhere, a knock on the bathroom door shook Kenny out of his tragic thoughts.

“Mom wants to talk to you in the living room.”

“Give me a goddamn minute, Kevin. I’ll be out there.” 

Kenny unlocked the bathroom and sulked his way to the kitchen to set the knife back on the counter.

“Why did you have that?”

“Kevin, don’t. Fucking. Ask.” 

He sat on the floor in the living room, waiting to hear what his mom wanted to talk about.

“So, boys. You know how hard I’ve been working to find a new job, right?” Carol started.

“Yeah. how’s it going?” Kenny asked.

“Well, I have some good news. I got a new job! It’s at Red Lobster, and I’ll be doing what I was doing at Olive Garden. Yes, washing dishes isn’t the  _ best  _ thing, but it’s hard, honest work. And they’ll be scheduling me mostly for nights, so I’ll still be able to be with y’all during the day.”

“I’m proud of you, mom.” Kenny said blankly with a small smile on his face.

Carol picked up on this immediately.

“Is something bothering you, Ken?”

“Not really.” Kenny lied.

“Well, if something is, don’t be afraid to talk to me and maybe we’ll figure it out together, ok? And even if you don’t want to figure it out, you can still talk to me.”

Kenny moved over to the couch and rested his head on the armrest. For the first time all day, he didn’t feel so horribly alone.


End file.
